


About Time

by YoukaiLuvr



Category: Voltron: Defender of the Universe
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5292818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoukaiLuvr/pseuds/YoukaiLuvr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an offworld mission goes wrong, what changes will result? An injured pilot comes to a decision about the future. KA *Cross posted on ff.net*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there -
> 
> I started this story several years ago on fanfiction.net (as Trekker4life) and recently finished it, so I thought you all would like to read it as well. Enjoy!

_**On FanFiction.net, this is posted as four chapters, but I've decided to condense the first two chapters on here to make it three.  I think it flows a little better.** _

 

**_Disclaimer: I own no part of the series Voltron. I also do not own the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Arsenal of Freedom,' which served as inspiration for this story._ **

 

 

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

 

 

_BOOM!_

 

The massive missile landed in the center of the group of lions, forcing them apart.

"Split up!" ordered Keith from the Black Lion. "Princess, with me; the rest of you, stay together! No one goes off alone!"

As soon as his orders were finished, Keith took off, trying to race away from their current bombardment.  Lance, Hunk, and Pidge disappeared into the dust cloud in their respective lions while Allura followed Keith in her Blue Lion.

The missiles, rockets, and lasers didn't seem to let up as they dashed toward the nearby mountains. Once there, they would have a better vantage point from which to find the source of the attacks, which seemed to be coming from all around them, which made no sense. They had come to this planet on a mission of peace, hoping to find an ally in the fight against the Drule Empire.

However, the five lions had no sooner entered the planet's atmosphere before they were besieged. Allura looked up and saw first the Black Lion in front of her, then how close they were to the mountains. Just a few more lion lengths, and they'd be there!

"Keith," she called, a small smile appearing on her face. "We're nearly there!"

Black Lion turned his head around to look back at the Blue Lion; inside, Keith's face went from cautious hope to pure fear. He cried out, trying to gain the other Lion's pilot's attention in time.

"Allura! Watch out!" Allura had no time to reply before the Blue Lion was hit in the back by a missile. The force of the hit slammed Blue Lion into Black Lion and sent them both crashing to the ground.

The ground where the Lions landed had been weakened by earlier attacks and it collapsed under the combined weight of the Lions, plunging them into the depths of the underground caverns below.

 

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~**_  

 

Keith stirred, slumped over the main control console of Black Lion. He slowly raised a hand to his head, hissing in pain when it came in contact with a large, swollen bump - his helmet must've come off in the crash.

"Oww…damn."

He reached out with his other hand, blinding groping for the comm-link button. Finding it and flipping it on, he called out.

"Allura. Allura, are you there?"

A few seconds passed. No answer.

The fog caused by his induced sleep started to lift; fear beginning to settle in its place. He tried again.

"Princess, can you hear me? Princess Allura, this is Keith! If you can hear me, please respond!"

A few seconds…thirty seconds…a minute. Nothing. Keith turned, painfully – _that's a few cracked ribs, at least,_ he thought – and fiddled with Black Lion's power controls, trying to assess the damage.

After a few minutes, it seemed that offensive systems were shot and defensive nearly so – meaning the Lion was a sitting duck if anyone wanted to attack – but he still had power to move, and that was the important thing right now.

"Sh…ke…th…."

_Huh?_ The rattle of static drew his attention back to the comm.

"Sh…Keith…ear me?"

"Allura!" He hurried his movements, moving dials and flipping levers as fast as he could, trying to clear the static from the signal. Keith flicked a final switch before calling out.

"Princess! Princess Allura, are you there?"

After a brief, heart-stopping moment of silence, the most beautiful sound came through the speakers. "Keith? Is that you?"

Those were the first words he had heard clearly from Allura in heaven-only-knows how long. _Thank the spirits,_ he thought, breathing a sigh of relief before replying.

"Yes, Princess – it's me. Do you know where you are?"

"Ah…no. There must be debris or something piled on top of Blue Lion. I can't get her to move." Something was off about Allura's voice…she sounded very, very tired. But then again, Keith supposed his voice wasn't exactly normal either, especially coming off a crash like that.

"You still have power, though, right?"

"Huh? Power…yes, I have that."

"Good. Can you flip on your emergency beacon? Black Lion managed to escape damage, for the most part, so I can follow that to you."

"Alright…standby." Keith waited, shoving his worry to the side while he finished a few checks on Black Lion. A few moments later, Allura's voice came back on the line, sounding even more tired and almost in pain.

"Alright, Keith…I've got the beacon on."

"Allura…are you alright?" It took her a moment to respond. "I…I don't know, Keith. I think Blue Lion's really damaged; I can barely get her to move. And my head feels really heavy – like I haven't slept in a week."

Keith frowned. As Allura talked, the fear and discomfort in him grew. "Hey, Princess – I want you to keep this line open, alright? Keep talking to me until you can see me."

"Talk to you?" she asked, slowly.

"About what?" Keith brought Black Lion to its feet and set off in the direction of the blinking beacon showing on his monitor screen. "I don't know – anything…everything. Just don't fall asleep."

 

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

 

_**Anyway, So...there's the chapter.  Let me know if you enjoyed it.** _

 

_**YoukaiLuvr** _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 2.

_**Here's chapter 2.  Enjoy!** _

_**Disclaimer: I own no part of the series Voltron. I also do not own the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Arsenal of Freedom,' which served as inspiration for this story.** _

 

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

 

The hour or so it took Keith to locate Blue Lion and her pilot felt like days; the moment he saw the Lion felt like an eternity.

Blue Lion was laying flat on her stomach with what looked like several tons of rock crushing her torso and back legs. Only her shoulders, head, and front legs were visible through the rubble, although they had obviously not completely escaped damage. One front leg was lying at a funny angle and the head was severely dented.

Keith called out, sending his words thought the communication system and into Blue Lion's cockpit. "Princess! I'm here!"

He pushed Black Lion into a sprint, covering the last several hundred yards with ease. Skidding to a stop, he guided Black Lion's head next to that of Blue Lion before opening the hatch and jumping onto the damaged Lion. Keith forced open the Blue Lion's hatch, paying no attention to his own injuries; he made his way inside and to Allura's side.

"Princess! Are you alright?" Allura's flight suit was singed and torn in places; her helmet was blackened as well. Her head rested on her shoulder and her eyes were closed. Keith reached out and gently shook her shoulder.

"Allura? Princess, can you hear me?" Her eyes fluttered open and tried to focus on him.

"Keith?" She raised her arms and tried to remove her helmet.

"Here - let me." Keith reached over and eased off her helmet; Allura rested her head against the seat in relief. "Are you alright?" she asked, weakly. 

His voice cracked slightly as he answered her. "M-me? I should be asking you that. Black Lion and I are a little banged up, but mostly okay. No words from the others, though."

"So, we need to go find them," Allura said. She put her arms against the arms of her seat and tried to push herself up, but she only raised herself a few inches before she cried out in pain. Her right hand flew to her left forearm.

"Allura!" Keith cried, reaching for her. "Where are you hurt?"

She raised her pain-filled gaze to meet his concerned one. "My arm, definitely, and maybe more...I'm not sure - everything hurts, really."

Keith slipped to the side of the cockpit and retrieved a simple first aid kit from it's storage place. Each Lion had one; it didn't contain much, really - just cleaning cloths, water, bandages, pain-reliever pills, a small flashlight, and the like. But it was enough.

He made his way back to her, then cleaned and bandaged the deep gash on her arm, although the blood was soon showing through the bandage. "Think you can try again?" he asked. She nodded.

Keith reached around, somewhat awkwardly, and locked forearms with Allura. Together, they began to lift her from the pilot's chair, but they made it no farther than where she had on her own before she cried out in pain again.

"Ah...sorry. I think my leg was hit, too," she said, her teeth gritted against the pain. Keith retrieved the flashlight and aimed the beam of light toward Allura's leg.

His heart sank.

A jagged piece of shrapnel was protruding from the side of her thigh. It wasn't connected to any part of the console, so it must've be torn free in the crash. About two inches was visible outside of the wound, but there was no telling how much of it was actually inside her leg. He swallowed and tried to steady his voice before he spoke again.

"There's a piece of shrapnel...I can't remove it right now without causing more damage." She looked up at him and gave a small, pained smile. "Then it looks like Blue Lion and I won't be able to help you find the others."

Keith frowned and knelt beside the injured pilot. "I'm _not_ going to leave you here alone."

Even as he said the words, Keith knew he _would_ have to leave. Black Lion simply didn't have the power to dig Blue Lion out of the rubble on his own. Hopefully, the others, especially Hunk, had escaped damage and would be able to help. He sighed and clasped one of her hands in his.

"But...I can't get you out of here and Black Lion doesn't have the power to dig Blue Lion out. We need help - Hunk and Yellow Lion could get you both out of here."

Allura winced as she shifted in her seat. "I know," she said, her voice tight with pain. "Go - the sooner you find the others, the sooner we can get home." Keith reluctantly stood and reached into the first-aid kit again. He pulled out a container of drinking water, opened it, and set it within Allura's reach.

"Sip slowly on this for a while. I don't want to risk doing any more or giving you any medication until we get you home," he said. Allura nodded her understanding; Keith continued. "I'm going to keep the communications channel we used open the entire time. I want you to keep talking to me until I find the others and we can get back to you."

"Okay," she said. Keith didn't move from his spot. "Keith, you need to go." He nodded. "I know...I just...." He twined his fingers with hers again. Allura closed her eyes to rest; Keith leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Stay in contact with me - I'll be back soon. I promise," he said. He stood up and left the cockpit, all the while fighting every urge to return to Allura's side.

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

Keith steered Black Lion down the tunnel, searching for the cavern that he crashed into. That spot had sides that were easily climbed by the Lion; the cavern that Blue Lion came through did not. All the while, he worked on the communications system, trying to reach any of the others.

"Black Lion to Red Lion, do you read?"

"Black Lion to Green Lion, come in."

"Black Lion to Yellow Lion, do you copy?"

"Lance, Pidge, Hunk - can anyone hear me?"

He received no answer, but Keith didn't really expect one underground. He finally found his way back to the cavern he landed in and quickly climbed his way up the sides and to the surface. As soon as Black Lion had all four paws on the ground, he took off again, deciding to risk flight now that he was above ground.

He repeated the hails and, this time, received an answer almost immediately. A chorus of voices met his ears; Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all responded.

"Where are all of you?" Keith asked, searching his sensor displays for signs of the other three Lions. "We're almost to your location," said Pidge. "We have you on sensors," answered Lance. "But there's no sign of the Princess - is she with you?"

Keith grimaced at the reminder - Allura had kept talking to him periodically as he ran through the underground tunnels, but he hadn't heard from her in several minutes. Shaking off the fear he had been fighting against since he found the buried Blue Lion, he explained the situation.

"The Princess and I crashed into some underground caverns. Black Lion and I are relatively okay, but Blue Lion's pretty damaged and partially buried under a rockslide; Allura's injured, as well. I'm going to need all of you to help get her out."

The others came into view at that moment and, without a word, followed Keith back down into the caverns.

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

_**So that's chapter two.  Let me know what you think & please enjoy!** _

_**Youkai** _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 3! Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer: I own no part of the series Voltron. I also do not own the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Arsenal of Freedom,' which served as inspiration for this story.** _

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

She was warm, which was odd, because the last thing she remembered was starting to become very cold. She also couldn't smell the bits of burnt metal and circuits that she last remembered, either. After a moment of enjoying the warmth, she opened her eyes.

Oh, she knew this place. Although she wasn't normally the one laying on the bed, Allura recognized the castle's infirmary almost immediately. Looking around, she realized that she wasn't alone.

Keith sat in a chair next to her bed, but he was slumped over, laying most of his upper body on the edge of her bed. Knowing from experience that he would regret the position he was in when he woke up, she reached down with her good arm and touched his shoulder. "Keith?" she whispered, her throat dry and scratchy - how long had she been out? His eyes fluttered open and focused on her. "Princess!" he exclaimed, sitting upright quickly and cracking his neck. As he reached a hand up to rub the affected area, he spoke to her. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Allura shrugged and immediately winced as the movement pulled on her wounds and sore muscles. "Ah...I've been better, but not too bad, considering how I was when I last saw you. What happened?"

Keith explained that after he found the others, they wound their way back to her through the tunnels and managed to unbury Blue Lion - thanks largely to Hunk and Yellow Lion. Hunk also carried Blue Lion on the back of his own Lion until they could return to the surface, where he then towed the damaged Lion back to Arus with Lance's help.

"The missiles that shot at the Lions were part of the planet's automated defense system. The system was pretty advanced, but according to Pidge, it looked like it got out of control and destroyed it's own creators," Keith told her. "There was no sign of any intelligent life on that planet, unfortunately."

Allura let her head fall back to the bed and closed her eyes. "No allies, then."

Keith shook his head. "No." Allura looked to him again. "So how did I end up in here?"

Keith reached over and took her hand. "We got back here and you were unconscious. The doctors said that you had gone into shock and it was a good thing we got you back when we did. You lost a lot of blood...and gave us all quite a scare."

She turned her hand and squeezed his. "I bet Nanny and Coran weren't happy." Keith snorted. "Not happy is an understatement - they were _furious_. I had to sneak back in here after they went to bed - they practically banned the team from seeing you."

Allura frowned. "I'm sorry about them." He shrugged. "Eh, we're used to it by now."

"I know you all are, but you shouldn't have to be. I am the last of the Arusian royalty and the one in power on this planet, not them," Allura said. That was true, after all; she knew that to be a true ruler, one had to make her people happy, but the level of acquiescing that she had done to their wishes over the years was unacceptable.

"Nanny and Coran were necessary while I was younger and my father had just been killed. But now...now it's past time for them to see that this world can not be what it once was - I can't be who I once was, either. This world does not need the pageantry of old; we need something new - a ruler who is one of them and will fight with them, not someone to be kept in a tower and only brought out during times of peace."

Keith kept quiet and shifted his chair closer as Allura spoke, her words coming fast as she realized that she was long overdue to make this decision.

"Coran is slowly realizing this, but Nanny needs to see that I am a grown woman. I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into protecting my people. I have earned every scar I have and now I can add two more to the list." As she spoke her next words, Allura found that she couldn't meet Keith's gaze. Her face flushed slightly as she remembered his actions in the dark of the cavern.

"Nanny says that my scars will prevent me from finding a husband, and maybe they will. But I am long past being of age to take the throne as queen, with or without a husband. Don't get me wrong, I care for Nanny and Coran very much - they are as dear to me as my parents. But it's high time I began to take control of my own power and rule as I should."

Keith nodded. "I understand," he said. "And for what it's worth, the team will stand with you."

Allura smiled and turned back to him. "And what about you?" she asked, not daring to put more voice to the hopes she kept deep inside.

He caught her gaze and smiled in return. "I'll always be behind you, Princess."

"And if I want you beside me, not behind me?"

Keith hesitated. "I know you feel as I do, Keith," Allura said, wanting him to understand. "I also know Nanny has long insisted that any eventual husband of mine would need to be a prince or have some other title of nobility."

Keith started to release her hand, but she grasped his more firmly and continued. "However, as I said, I am through with her outdated ideas. Very few of our nobility are still alive and, quite frankly, I don't want to marry someone for political reasons only. I want someone in whom I can find a kindred spirit, who will love my people as I do, and who will see me as not just a princess or someone to be coddled and kept sheltered."

Allura looked Keith straight in the eye as she finished. "I want someone who will see me for me, as the woman I am, Allura - as someone to love. Do you know anyone like that?"

Keith smiled slowly. "I might," he said. Keith eased himself from the chair he was occupying to sit on the edge of Allura's bed. "You do know Nanny will have a fit when she finds out, right?"

She smiled in return and pulled him closer. "I told you - I'm tired of bending to her whims. Now are you going to kiss me properly or do I have to order you?"

Keith leaned in and captured her lips with his, a proper kiss this time - not just a peck on the forehead or a polite kiss on the hand. A true kiss of two people that had denied themselves for too long.

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

And that was how Nanny and Coran found them moments later. Nanny fainted in shock, but Coran caught her and gently guided her out of the room. He smiled to himself as the door slid quietly shut behind them. He knew that his princess and the leader of Voltron had strong feelings for one another; Nanny would be quite upset that her 'little girl' was not so little anymore, but personally, Coran was surprised it had taken them this long to do something about it.

_My princess, it's about time you did something to make yourself happy. King Alfor would be proud._

 

_**~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~** _

 

 

_**So, there's the last of it.  Please let me know what you think.** _

_**Youkai** _


End file.
